Let the rest of the net post images of concepts from the big automakers, I have more fun looking at the stuff people do for fun (or their portfolios). I found this one, Nitin Designs “Shakti”, over on the CGTalk forums. I was going to post one of Nitin’s earlier concepts a while back, but never got around to it. You can check out all the images for the above design and read the comments related to it here.
{Image Copyright © 2005 Nitin Khosa/Nitin Design}
By now many of you have heard of Google Earth or MSN Virtual Earth, or seen their images used on the evening news. If not, then you’re probably at least familiar with Yahoo Maps or MapQuest. Well, there’s been plenty of buzz surrounding this stuff, and the MIT Technology Review site has a really nice article explaining it all. So if you’d like to get a better handle on where it came from, what it’s about, and what it could become, then check out “Killer Maps“. That way, when people start annotating real world maps with virtual constructs, you’ll be half way to understanding what’s going on. Can hardly wait for the AR stuff.
By way of the Torley pipeline, here’s yet another article on virtual property: “Virtual Trump: Making money off imaginary land holdings“. It’s a nice article although the headline (especially the loaded word “imaginary”) makes me wonder what headlines looked like back when actors like Chaplin were raking in the dough. Maybe something like “Pretend Mogul: Making money off of imaginary people“. Or athletes; “Playtime Rockefeller: Making money hitting a ball with a stick“.
One good thing about blogging: For those that can’t get past the headline, I can just point to earlier posts like this one. Easier that way. But for those able to see how this activity isn’t so different from many of the activities we now accept without thought, this bit from the article is pretty good:
Their Second Life income also supports a little boy in the Philippines through a sponsorship program.
“When coming to Second Life I wanted to explore how real this virtual reality actually is. Real in terms of real effects on real people,� she says. So the little boy, whose name is Geo, has become one of the first people who’s supported by a virtual real-estate business.
Doesn’t sound so imaginary anymore. I wonder how many athletes, actors, and even investors (isn’t investing in futures a virtual activity?) are supporting kids in third world countries.
These urban vinyls aren’t just amazing-looking collector’s toys, they’re part of what seems to be a very smart business. I’ve mentioned plenty of niche markets in the past including the vinyl toy segment, but this particular example, Muttpop‘s “Tequila”, comes wrapped in the kind of genuine developer-to-customer interaction and relationship building that I see as a model for many future businesses; especially those set up by Industrial Designers. Just check out the development process documentation over on Vinyl Pulse. Sweet. And make sure you read today’s entry which includes information on availability of some newly-announced limited edition versions of this stylish piece. Very cool.
Y’know, there are some highly-paid marketing types out there who could probably learn a thing or two from the savvy people that thrive in these niche categories. Ever since seeing Tequila, I’ve been wondering how my old Street Shark Hammerhead vinyl would feel if I adopted one these bad boyz. He may not have a say in the matter.
{Image Source: Vinyl Pulse}
The Fast Company piece from which I stole that headline is called “The Death of Corporate Permanence“, and it wouldn’t have anything directly to do with Industrial Design, virtual worlds or rapid-prototyping except for the last paragraph. It’s that last bit written by Adam Hanft that perhaps indicates how some of the things I discuss on this blog are bleeding into the mainstream.
The free market tells us that bankruptcy can be a good thing, in the way that the death of an old tree allows younger ones under its oppressive canopy to grow. There’s a lot of truth to that. But beyond the physical, bankruptcy has triggered an emotional change in our expectations. We’ve experienced what can only be called the Death of Permanence; what remains to be seen is the way the new Economy of the Evanescent will influence our business and even personal interactions. Never before have so many people lived with one finger on the game-reset button.
Based on that last sentence, I suspect Mr. Hanft is taking notice of stories that do directly relate to this blog. Maybe the collective finger is getting ready to hit “fast forward”.